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49-636: The river is considered the place where the assassins sent by Sviatopolk the Accursed killed saints Boris and Gleb in 1015. In 1019 it was the site of a battle between Svyatopolk and his brother Yaroslav I the Wise which Yaroslav won. In 1068 the river was the place where Iziaslav I of Kyiv was defeated by from Polovtsy at the Battle of the Alta River On 25 May 1630 on the river near Pereiaslav

98-541: A campaign against Kiev, Bolesław abruptly stopped a successful war against the German Emperor Henry II . So, it is unlikely that Sviatopolk had been present at his court since 1015, which is often supposed by the historians who consider Sviatopolk guilty of Boris and Gleb's murders. The I-S2077 subclade of Y-DNA haplogroup I-Z63 was sampled on an elite warrior buried in Bodzia Cemetery in

147-524: A compound of vár 'pledge' or 'faith', and gengi 'companion', thus meaning 'sworn companion', 'confederate', extended to mean 'a foreigner who has taken service with a new lord by a treaty of fealty to him', or 'protégé'. Some scholars seem to assume a derivation from vár with the common suffix -ing . However, this suffix is inflected differently in Old Norse. Furthermore, the word is attested with -gangia and cognates in other Germanic languages in

196-724: A red ruby set in the left ear and ornamented dragons sewn on their chainmail shirts. In these years, Swedish men left to enlist in the Byzantine Varangian Guard in such numbers that a medieval Swedish law, Västgötalagen , from Västergötland declared no one could inherit while staying in "Greece"—the then Scandinavian term for the Byzantine Empire —to stop the emigration, especially as two other European courts simultaneously also recruited Scandinavians: Kievan Rus' c. 980–1060 and London 1018–1066 (the Þingalið ). Composed primarily of Scandinavians for

245-522: A rich burial from ca. 1010-1020 AD. All artefacts there indicate a strong relation to the Kievan Rus' ruling elite, so this man who probably succumbed to combat wounds, was closely related to Sviatopolk. The cemetery in Bodzia is exceptional in terms of Scandinavian and Kievan Rus' links. The Bodzia man (sample VK157, or burial E864/I) was not a simple warrior from the princely retinue, but he belonged to

294-500: A tradition of faithful, oath-bound service (to death if necessary), and after the Norman Conquest of England there were many fighting men, who had lost their lands and former masters, looking for a living elsewhere. The Varangian Guard not only provided security for Byzantine emperors but participated in many wars involving Byzantium and often played a crucial role, since it was usually employed at critical moments of battle. By

343-509: Is disputed by historians. The Svyatopolk-Mirsky family of Rurikid origin attribute their descent from Sviatopolk. Tsar Peter the Great recognized their descent during his reign. Sviatopolk's mother was a Greek nun captured by Sviatoslav I in Bulgaria and married to his lawful heir Yaropolk I , who became the prince in 972. In 980, Yaropolk's brother Vladimir had him murdered, and

392-568: The Bishop of Kolberg (now Kołobrzeg ). Dissatisfied with Vladimir and encouraged by his own wife and Reinbern, Sviatopolk began preparations for war against Vladimir, probably counting on support from his father-in-law. Vladimir soon discovered Sviatopolk's intentions, however, and threw him, his wife and Reinbern in prison, where Reinbern died. Not long before Vladimir's death, Sviatopolk was freed from prison. In 1015, Sviatopolk's retinue concealed Vladimir's death from him to prevent him from claiming

441-523: The Christianization of Kievan Rus' in 988. Coinciding with the general decline of the Viking Age , the influx of Scandinavians to Rus' stopped and Varangians were gradually assimilated by East Slavs by the late 11th century. Medieval Greek Βάραγγος Várangos and Old East Slavic варягъ varjagŭ ( Old Church Slavonic варѧгъ varęgŭ ) are derived from Old Norse væringi , originally

490-526: The Curonians of Grobin faced an invasion by the Swedes at about the same date. It has been argued that the word Varangian , in its many forms, does not appear in primary sources until the eleventh century (though it does appear frequently in later sources describing earlier periods). This suggests that the term Rus ' was used broadly to denote Scandinavians until it became too firmly associated with

539-760: The Danes , he incarcerated them. In 860, the Rus' under Askold and Dir launched their first attack on Constantinople from Kiev. The result of this attack is disputed, but the Varangians continued their efforts as they regularly sailed on their monoxyla down the Dnieper into the Black Sea . The Rus' raids into the Caspian Sea were recorded by Muslim authors in the 870s and in 910, 912, 913, 943, and later. Although

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588-743: The Greece Runestones . These were raised by former members of the Varangian Guard, or in their memory. A smaller group consists of the four Italy Runestones which commemorate members of the Varangian Guard who died in southern Italy. The oldest of the Greece runestones are six stones in the RAK style , which dates to the period before 1015 AD. The group consists of Skepptuna runestone U 358 , Västra Ledinge runestone U 518 , Nälberga runestone Sö 170 and Eriksstad runestone Sm 46 . One of

637-655: The Viking Age , and there are many associated with the Varangian Guards. These Varangian runestones commemorate various fallen warriors through carved runes , and mention voyages to the East ( Austr ) or the Eastern route ( Austrvegr ), or to more specific eastern locations such as Garðaríki (what is today Russia and Ukraine). The losses that the Varangian Guard suffered are reflected by the largest group of runestones that talk of foreign voyages, such as those known as

686-788: The Volga trade route (between the Varangians and the Muslims), connecting the Baltic to the Caspian Sea and the Dnieper and Dniester trade route (between Varangians and the Greeks) leading to the Black Sea and Constantinople . Those were the main important trade links at that time, connecting Medieval Europe with Abbasid Caliphates and the Byzantine Empire . Most of the silver coinage in

735-774: The 750s, Norse colonists played an important role in the early ethnogenesis of the Rus' people and in the formation of the Rus' Khaganate . The Varangians ( Varyags , in Old East Slavic ) are first mentioned by the Primary Chronicle as having exacted tribute from the Slavic and Finnic tribes in 859. It was the time of rapid expansion of the Vikings in Northern Europe; England began to pay Danegeld in 859, and

784-720: The 9th century, traveling as merchants along the Volga trade route, selling furs, honey, and slaves, as well as luxury goods such as amber, Frankish swords, and walrus ivory. These goods were mostly exchanged for Arabic silver coins, called dirhams. Hoards of 9th-century Baghdad -minted silver coins have been found in Sweden, particularly in Gotland. Variations in the size of the coin hoards show that there were phases of increased importation of coins and sometime decades during which very few coins were imported. The economic relationship between

833-550: The Accursed Sviatopolk I Vladimirovich (also called Sviatopolk the Accursed or the Accursed Prince ; Old East Slavic : Свѧтоплъкъ , romanized:  Svętoplŭkŭ ; c.  980 – 1019) was Prince of Turov from 988 to 1015 and Grand Prince of Kiev from 1015 to 1019. He earned his sobriquet after allegedly murdering his brothers during his bid to take the throne. His actual responsibility

882-519: The Byzantines to re-arrange their trading arrangements; militarily, the Varangians were usually defeated by the superior Byzantine forces, especially in the sea due to Byzantine use of Greek fire . The Varangian Guard ( Greek : Τάγμα των Βαράγγων, Tágma tōn Varángōn ) were a part of Byzantine Army and personal bodyguards of the Byzantine emperors from the 10th to the 14th centuries. Initially

931-591: The Early Middle Ages; examples include Old English wærgenga , Old Frankish wargengus and Langobardic waregang . The reduction of the second part of the word could be parallel to that seen in Old Norse foringi 'leader', correspondent to Old English foregenga and Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌿𐍂𐌰𐌲𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌾𐌰 fauragaggja 'steward'. There are raised stone memorials called runestones throughout Scandinavia of which almost all are found in Sweden . Many date to

980-642: The Islamic world in the 9th and 10th centuries and the Rus merchants who went there to trade their goods for silver interacted with cultures and goods from the Islamic World, and also from China, India, and North Africa. The trade between the Rus and the lands south of the Black and Caspian seas made it possible for cultural interactions to take place between the Rus and the Islamic World. The account written by Ibn Fadlan about his 921–922 travels from Baghdad to

1029-519: The Kievan throne. When Sviatopolk learned of Vladimir's demise, he seized power in Kiev almost immediately. The citizens of Kiev did not show much sympathy for Sviatopolk and, therefore, he decided to distribute presents in order to win them over. Then, he decided to rid himself of three of Vladimir's sons, Boris, Gleb , and Sviatoslav, whose claims for the Kievan throne threatened his power. Boris presented

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1078-569: The Polish court. Unfortunately it can be interpreted ambiguously as far as the question of Sviatopolk's guilt is concerned. One place in his chronicle can be interpreted as Sviatopolk escaping from Kiev to Poland immediately after his father's death. But Thietmar states that Bolesław supported his son-in-law against Yaroslav in 1017, which is the date, according to the Primary Chronicle , of Sviatopolk's first defeat by Yaroslav. Preparing

1127-540: The Polish king Bolesław; the latter name is also rendered as Burizlaf in some sagas) as well as Boris. Therefore, it has been suggested that Sviatopolk ascended the throne after Boris's assassination and tried to fend off Yaroslav's attacks as well as to punish his agents guilty of Boris's murder. The chronicle of Thietmar of Merseburg , who died in 1018, could have been regarded as the only contemporary and unbiased account of events, save that Thietmar's data may have been supplied by Sviatopolk himself during his brief exile at

1176-469: The Rus and the Islamic world developed quickly into a network of trading routes. Initially the Rus founded Staraya Ladoga as the first node from the Baltic to the Caspian Sea and Black Sea. By the end of the 9th century, Staraya Ladoga was replaced as the most important center by Novgorod. From these centers the Rus were able to send their goods as far as Baghdad. Baghdad was the political and cultural center of

1225-623: The Rus and the Muslims were interested in and fairly knowledgeable about each other's cultures. The geography of the Volga region and the relative lack of physical wealth available for stealing (compared to targets of Viking raids in the west) made raiding a less important aspect of the Rus/Varangian activities in the East. Some raiding was necessary to gain initial control of the towns and regions that they developed into centers of economic activities. The first small-scale raids took place in

1274-529: The Rus' had predominantly peaceful trading relations with the Byzantines, the rulers of Kiev launched the relatively successful naval expedition of 907 and the abortive campaign of 941 against Constantinople, as well as the large-scale invasion of the Balkans by Sviatoslav I in 968–971. In 1043, Yaroslav sent his son Vladimir to attack Constantinople. The Byzantines destroyed the attacking vessels and defeated Vladimir These raids were successful in forcing

1323-857: The Rus' may have been written prior to 842. It is preserved in the Greek Life of St. George of Amastris , which speaks of a raid that had extended into Paphlagonia . Contemporary Byzantine presence of the Rus' is mentioned in the Frankish Annals of St. Bertin . These relate that a delegation from the court of the Byzantine emperor visited Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious at his court in Ingelheim in 839. In this delegation were two men who called themselves Rhos ( Rhos vocari dicebant ). Louis enquired about their origins and learnt that they were Swedes. Fearing that they were spies for their brothers,

1372-482: The Rus' might have ruled an earlier hypothetical polity known as the Rus' Khaganate . Rurik's relative Oleg conquered Kiev in 882 and established the state of Kievan Rus', which was later ruled by Rurik's descendants . Engaging in trade, piracy, and mercenary service, Varangians roamed the river systems and portages of Gardariki , as the areas north of the Black Sea were known in the Norse sagas . They controlled

1421-822: The West came from the East via those routes. Attracted by the riches of Constantinople, the Varangian Rus' began the Rus'-Byzantine Wars , some of which resulted in advantageous trade treaties. At least from the early 10th century, many Varangians served as mercenaries in the Byzantine Army , constituting the elite Varangian Guard (the bodyguards of Byzantine emperors ). Eventually most of them, in Byzantium and in Eastern Europe, were converted from Norse paganism to Orthodox Christianity , culminating in

1470-472: The capital of the Bulghar kingdom gives details which can reveal the cultural interaction between the two groups. Ibn Fadlan gives a vivid description of the daily habits of the Rus, as well as the only known first-person account of the complicated ship-burning funeral ceremony. Certain details in his account, especially the dialogue of the ceremonies and his personal conversations with Rus individuals, show that

1519-463: The first hundred years, the guard increasingly included Anglo-Saxons after the successful Norman Conquest of England. By the time of Emperor Alexios Komnenos in the late 11th century, the Varangian Guard was largely recruited from Anglo-Saxons and "others who had suffered at the hands of the Vikings and their cousins the Normans". The Anglo-Saxons and other Germanic peoples shared with the Vikings

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1568-500: The guard was composed of Varangians who came from Kievan Rus'. Immigrants from Scandinavia (predominantly immigrants from Sweden but also elements from Denmark and Norway ) kept an almost entirely Norse cast to the organization until the late 11th century. According to the late Swedish historian Alf Henrikson in his book Svensk Historia ( History of Sweden ), the Norse Varangian guardsmen were recognised by long hair,

1617-441: The last century, the traditional account of Sviatopolk's career has been somewhat modified. It has been argued that it was Boris who succeeded Vladimir in Kiev, while Sviatopolk was still in prison. One Norse saga called Eymund's saga (a part of Yngvars saga víðförla ), with remarkable details, puts on Yaroslav the blame of his brother Burizlaf's murder. This Burizlaf, however, may be Sviatopolk (whose troops were commanded by

1666-463: The late 9th and early 10th centuries. The Rus' undertook the first large-scale expedition in 913; having arrived on 500 ships, they pillaged Gorgan , in the territory of present-day Iran , and the adjacent areas, taking slaves and goods. On their return, the northern raiders were attacked and defeated by Khazar Muslims in the Volga Delta , and those who escaped were killed by the local tribes on

1715-619: The later runestones in the Pr4 style is Ed runestone U 112 , a large boulder at the western shore of the lake of Ed. It tells that Ragnvaldr, the captain of the Varangian Guard, had returned home where he had the inscriptions made in memory of his dead mother. The youngest runestones, in the Pr5 style , such as Ed runestone U 104 (presently in the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford ), are dated to

1764-406: The middle Volga . During their next expedition in 943, the Rus' captured Barda , the capital of Arran , in the modern-day Republic of Azerbaijan . The Rus' stayed there for several months, killing many inhabitants of the city and amassing substantial plunder. It was only an outbreak of dysentery among the Rus' that forced them to depart with their spoils. Sviatoslav , prince of Kiev, commanded

1813-478: The most danger to him because he had been in charge of Vladimir's druzhina (personal guards) and army, and enjoyed the support of the citizens. He sent the boyars of Vyshgorod to execute Boris. Boris and his manservant were stabbed to death when sleeping in a tent. The prince was discovered still breathing when his body was being transported in a bag to Kiev, but the Varangians put him out of his misery with

1862-457: The new sovereign married his predecessor's wife, who gave birth to a child. Thus, Sviatopolk may have been the eldest of Vladimir's sons, although his parentage has been questioned . When Sviatopolk was eight years old, Vladimir put him in charge of Turov and later arranged his marriage with the daughter of Bolesław I the Brave of Poland . The young princess came to Turov together with Reinbern ,

1911-738: The next attack, which destroyed the Khazar state in 965. Sviatoslav's campaign established Rus' control over the north–south trade routes, helping to alter the demographics of the region. Raids continued through the time period with the last Scandinavian attempt to reestablish the route to the Caspian Sea led by Ingvar the Far-Travelled in 1041. While there, Varangians took part in the Georgian-Byzantine Battle of Sasireti in Georgia (1042). The earliest Byzantine record of

1960-473: The period 1080–1130, after which runestones became unfashionable. The Varangians returned home with some influence from Byzantine culture, as exemplified by the Byzantine cross carved on the early eleventh-century Risbyle runestone U 161 , and which today is the coat-of-arms of Täby , a trimunicipal locality and the seat of Täby Municipality in Stockholm County, Sweden. The runes were made by

2009-619: The princely family himself. His burial is the richest one in the whole cemetery, and strontium analysis of his tooth enamel shows he was not local. It is assumed that he came to Poland with Sviatopolk, and met a violent death in combat. This corresponds to the events of 1018 AD when Sviatopolk disappeared after having retreated from Kiev to Poland. It cannot be excluded that the Bodzia man was Sviatopolk. Varangians The Varangians ( / v ə ˈ r æ n dʒ i ə n z / ) were Viking conquerors, traders and settlers, mostly from present-day Sweden . The Varangians settled in

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2058-687: The runemaster Viking Ulf of Borresta , see Orkesta runestone U 344 , in memory of another Ulf, in Skålhamra, and at the request of the latter's father. In the 9th century, the Rus ' operated the Volga trade route , which connected Northern Rus ( Garðaríki ) with the Middle East ( Serkland ). The Volga route declined by the end of the century, and the Dnieper and Dniester routes rapidly overtook it in importance. Apart from Ladoga and Novgorod , Gnyozdovo and Gotland were major centers for Varangian trade. Having settled Aldeigja (Ladoga) in

2107-519: The south came from the area of modern Sweden. The Varangians left rune stones in their native Sweden that tell of their journeys to what is today Russia, Ukraine, Greece, and Belarus. Most of these rune stones can be seen today, and are a telling piece of historical evidence. The Varangian runestones tell of many notable Varangian expeditions, and even account for the fates of individual warriors and travelers. The Rus' initially appeared in Serkland in

2156-449: The subsequent elite of Kievan Rus who assimilated Slavic culture. At that point, the new term Varangian was increasingly preferred to name Scandinavians, probably mostly from what is now Sweden, plying the river routes between the Baltic and the Black and Caspian Seas. Due largely to geographic considerations, it is often argued that most of the Varangians who traveled and settled in the lands of eastern Baltic, modern Russia and lands to

2205-550: The territories of present-day Belarus, Russia and Ukraine from the 8th and 9th centuries, and established the state of Kievan Rus' as well as the principalities of Polotsk and Turov . They also formed the Byzantine Varangian Guard . According to the 12th-century Primary Chronicle , a group of Varangians known as the Rus' settled in Novgorod in 862 under the leadership of Rurik . Before Rurik,

2254-401: The thrust of a lance. Sviatopolk's cold-blooded reprisal earned him the nickname of the Accursed. The news of this triple murder reached another son of Vladimir, Yaroslav , Prince of Novgorod , who decided to go to war against Sviatopolk with the support from the citizens of Novgorod and the Varangians . The battle took place in 1016 not far from Lubech , near the Dnieper river . Sviatopolk

2303-489: Was defeated and fled to Poland . In 1018, he returned to Rus' , defeated Yaroslav with help from his father-in-law and seized Kiev. Bolesław of Poland and his army remained in Rus' for several months , but later returned to Poland, seizing some Cherven towns on the way. Meanwhile, the posadnik Konstantin Dobrynich and other citizens of Novgorod persuaded Yaroslav to go to war against Kiev once again. Sviatopolk

2352-565: Was defeated and fled to the steppes . Soon he returned with the Pecheneg army and attacked Yaroslav on the Alta River , but was once again defeated and fled to Poland, dying on his way there in July 1019. Sviatopolk may have been murdered by a descendant of Valuk Conqueror (Wallux dux Winedorum) who in 1018 helped him and his father-in-law Bolesław I in expedition against Yaroslav. During

2401-778: Was the place where Polish hetman Stanisław Koniecpolski was beaten by the Zaporozhian Cossacks led by Taras Triasylo . The battle is known as the Taras Night and is described in the Taras Shevchenko poem Tarasova nich . This article about a location in Kyiv Oblast is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to a river in Ukraine is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sviatopolk

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